“I argued the case before the Mississippi Supreme Court, never knowing I'd be serving here, but we won, and the Johnson family continues to reap the benefits of that work,” Kitchens said.
The Johnson case is just one of many Kitchens has argued over a legal career that spans more than four decades. That experience as a lawyer, district attorney and Mississippi Supreme Court Justice is the core of his pitch to voters as he seeks a third term.
“I spent most of my life in those courts,” Kitchens said. “I understand closely and personally what goes on in the trial courts. I think I have a great advantage over my opponents in that regard, some of whom have never tried a case with a jury.”
As the second-most senior member of the court, Kitchens is next in line to be chief justice if his tenure on the court outlasts current Chief Justice Mike Randolph's. The eight-year terms of Supreme Court Justices are the longest of any elected position in Mississippi. Kitchens, now 81 years old, doesn't plan on retiring. He says that attitude is something he got from his mother, a piano teacher who retired at age 99 and lived to be 105.
“I don't want to quit working ever,” Kitchens said. “It will suit me just fine for them to carry me out of this building feet first.”
While judicial elections often fly under the radar, the Central District race for Mississippi Supreme Court stands out as Kitchens faces a well-funded challenge from Republican state senator Jenifer Branning.
Throughout her campaign, Branning has differentiated herself from Kitchens, who’s seen as one of the court’s two centrist justices, by emphasizing her identity as a "constitutional conservative."
Mississippians need and deserve a justice who will uphold the Constitution, not legislate from the bench,” Branning said during an interview in her office at the state capital.
Branning thinks her voting record during her eight years in the senate shows she shares Mississippian's conservative values, and that those values will prevent her from engaging in judicial overreach.
“I'm running as a justice that will call balls and strikes and not rewrite the rules of the game,” Branning said.
Branning has no judicial experience, but has been a practicing attorney for 20 years and has served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County. She’s proud of her courtroom experience representing small businesses and farmers, and thinks Mississippians are ready for “a new generation of conservative leadership on the court.”
If elected to the nine-member body, Branning would be the fifth woman to hold the position in state history. Justice Dawn Beam is the only woman currently serving on the court, and Branning thinks it would benefit from the outlook of another female voice.
“As a wife and a mother, I bring a unique perspective to the court in that nearly half of the cases that come up before the Mississippi Supreme Court involve families and children.”
Branning has also received a slew of endorsements from business groups and the state Republican party. Kitchens has been endorsed by the SPLC Action Fund, a public interest advocacy organization.
Both Branning and Kitchens have raised and spent magnitudes more on their election bids than any other judicial candidates in the state. Branning's campaign committee has raised over $763,000, while Kitchen's has raised nearly $444,000. The two have put those war chests to use, covering the airwaves with advertisements in the weeks leading up to the election. The largest source of financial support for Branning's campaign has been a $250,000 donation from the candidate herself, a move she thinks shows the residents of the Central District that she has “skin in the game.”
“I want the voters to know that I'm serious about this race,” Branning said.
Branning's conservative bona fides would serve her well when courting voters in most areas of the state, but the Supreme Court's central district is an outlier. It's a rare Democratic stronghold in Mississippi that includes a swathe of the Delta and the Jackson metro area. Of the 20 counties that make up the district, 13 were won by Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The endorsements, fundraising and advertising campaigns show that even though judicial elections in Mississippi have been nonpartisan for 30 years, they are not free from partisan politics. Even with that juxtaposition, Randy Pierce, who served on the Mississippi Supreme Court from 2008 to 2016, thinks the state's system, where citizens get a direct say, is still better than the appointment processes used at the federal level and in 26 other states.
“Here in Mississippi, the people elect their judges and justices; it's not like that in every state,” Pierce said.
Pierce thinks the responsibilities this system places on officeholders and those who elect them are of equal importance. For members of the judiciary, it’s upholding their oath to uphold laws free from political influence. For voters, it’s actually paying attention to what state courts are doing.
“These rulings are important,” Pierce said. “They affect the daily lives of every Mississippian, and that's why it's important to pay attention to these races and do your homework and study and go into that voting booth informed.”
Byron Carter, Ceola James and Abby Gale Robinson are also running for the Central District Supreme Court seat. If no candidate receives a majority of votes on November 5, a runoff will be held three weeks later.
Correction 11/19/2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Jim Kitchens had been endorsed by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was endorsed by the SPLC Action Fund, the 501(c)4 affiliate organization to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
